Video content programs, such as TV shows and pay-per-view movies, are delivered to a viewer as a continuous data stream. Programs are most commonly distributed using a wireless broadcast system or a cable system. In the first instance, the programs are broadcast over a wireless network and received at individual homes through an antenna or satellite dish. In the latter case, the programs are transmitted over cable to set-top boxes resident in the viewers' homes.
In traditional broadcast distribution systems, there is no opportunity for interactive control of the content by the viewer. The viewer simply has an option to watch the program, change to a different program, or turn off the television. However, as consumers have learned from playing video games on their televisions, non-interactive viewing is not nearly as fun or sensory rich as interactive entertainment.
To enhance the traditional way of viewing television, there has been some effort toward the production of interactive programming content. As presently contemplated, additional interactive content is created to enhance the existing traditional program. This supplemental content is played along with the continuous video stream to enable viewers to interact with the program in a more involved manner than simply watching it. The supplemental content might, for example, ask the viewer questions about the episode, or play games with the viewer that relate to the show, or describe behind-the-scenes aspects of making the program, or provide links to stores that sell merchandise sponsored by the show. In addition, the content may not be tied to a particular program, but instead be used to convey general information, such as tickers for news headlines, weather information, sports scores, and so forth.
The Internet is rapidly emerging as a means for supplying interactive content. Resources available on the Internet are most commonly presented as HTML (hypertext markup language) pages. Users can browse through pages of information via the World Wide Web (“Web”) and receive multimedia-like experiences with video, audio, images, text, and other multimedia rich resources. Newer technologies are coming the television and Internet experiences to provide interactive content. Set-top boxes, for example, are being configured to support Web browsers that enable access to Web content in addition to receiving traditional television signals. As an example, WebTV Networks, Inc. manufactures and sells a browser-based set-top box (STB) having a television tuner, a browser, and a standard network interface device that enables simultaneous viewing of both television programs and web programming.
Newer generations of personal computers (PCs) are being implemented with broadcast reception capabilities, allowing them to receive and display television signals. Such PCs are equipped with a television tuner and software for television reception. A Windows-brand operating system from Microsoft Corporation, for example, includes software that supports a number of interactive services and reception of broadcast data and content feeds.
These newer interactive television technologies combine the power of traditional television with the compelling interactivity of the Internet. One common approach today is to provide the enhancing content via the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the streaming television content. The VBI is a non-viewable portion of the television signal. In the future, enhancing content may also be provided over satellites (e.g., DVB, DSS, etc.) and as part of digital television (DTV) feeds.
Unfortunately, there remains a significant hurdle concerning creation and distribution of interactive programs. TV programs are typically broadcast as a continuous data stream. Attempting to synchronize the enhancing content, regardless of how that content is delivered (i.e., via the VBI, satellite feeds, etc.), with the streaming content poses a difficult design challenge.
The inventors have developed a system and method that address this challenge.